Fishing for Trophy Striped Bass - First Installment
From the questions I have been receiving lately on the website, methods and
techniques for taking large striped bass appears to be the hot topic.
I have been chasing "cow" bass for at least 30 years. I have fished for them
from the shores of Brooklyn to Montauk, Orient Point and beyond. For many
years I would trek up to the mecca of striper haunts, the legendary rocky
shores of Cuttyhunk Island off Cape Cod. It was there on a dark night in
October 1968, that we came back to the dock after a night of trolling eel skin
rigs over Sow and Pig reef, that I witnessed the 72 lb. cow bass caught by Ed
Kirker.
If your passion is pursuing large striped bass, then you know that catching
one of these magnificent fish takes a lot of skill, dedication and planning.
Sure people sometimes get lucky and manage to land a trophy fish when it
wasn't expected.
But that is a rare exception. To consistently take big striped bass requires
a very high level of knowledge and commitment.
Over the next few months I will be writing several installments on striped
bass fishing and targeting large fish. Each installment will cover tackle and
techniques to take large bass at that time of the season. This first
installment will cover live bait fishing and bucktail jigging. Future
installments will cover bunker chunking, diamond jigging, plugging and
fishing live herring.
The first thing to remember are that bass are oportunistic predators. They
like to let the tide bring them their dinner. Accordingly, bass tend to hang
around structure, e.g. rocks, ledges and drop offs. Also inlets, troughs and
sloughs along a beach front will hold bass. Therefore, if you have located
some rocky structure with a reasonable tidal flow, the odds are that bass will
be somewhere in the area.
I you want to up your chances of hooking a trophy bass, then fish bait. A
trophy bass will find it very difficult to pass on a lively eel or bunker
bait. If I am fishing bass in June during the day, nothing beats swimming a
live bunker through a rip or over a drop off.
To fish live bunker from a boat, my tackle consists of a 6 1/2 - 7 foot
medium heavy boat rod and a conventional reel spooled with 250 yards of
quality 30 lb. mono. Attach a fish finder rig that will take a 6-8 ounce
sinker. Attach a 5 foot leader of 80 lb. test to a barrel swivel swivel and
then tie on the 6/0 live bait hook like a Gamakatsu 4X Octopus. Hook the live
bunker through the jaw, drop it to the bottom and then take up 5 turns. You
will feel the bunker swimming on the line. If a bass spots the bunker, the
bait will start to get excited. Get ready for a pick up.
When a bass takes a bunker, they first try to stun it then turn it around in
their mouth to swallow it and swim away. Do not strike on the initial pick
up. Wait for the line to go tight and start to peel off the reel. Then
engage your drag and strike the fish. Big bass have a lot of power, so let
them go on the first run. When they stop running, then work the fish back to
the boat. Be alert when the bass approaches the boat. They usually make
another run when they see the boat, so let them take drag. Then work the fish
back to the boat again.
Live bunker fishing is very effective around channels, drop offs and inlets.
Try to fish either early in the morning at first light or around dusk when
there is minimum boat traffic
Another method in June is fishing at night with live eels and bucktails. They
call this "3 - waying". Basically you use the same rod and reel and you start
with a large black 3 way swivel. Attach a 10-12 inch piece of 30 lb. mono
with a dropper loop to one of the eyes of the swivel. To the other eye tie on
a 6 foot length of 80 lb. mono. For eeling use the same 6/0 Gamakatsu live
bait hook. For bucktailing, use a 1 /12 ounces smiling head bucktail either
in white, purple, yellow or pink. Attached a pork rind striper strip in white
and red. Keep changing the color of the bucktail until you know their
preference that night.
Drop the eel or bucktail rig to the bottom and take up 5 turns. Hold it there
as you drift over the bottom. If you feel a touch, lift your rod tip. It
could either be a fish or the bottom. If it's a fish then strike, if it's the
bottom then drop it back down and start over again.
I like to fish eels and bucktails off the east end of Long Island. Areas like
the Race, Plum Gut, the Sluiceway and the rips off Montauk and Gardiners
Island are prime trophy bass areas. I also like to fish around the full and
new moon phases on a moving tide. Check your local newspaper for moon and
tide conditions, or better yet, buy a copy of Eldridge's Pilot Book. It has
all the information you are looking for in there.
In the next installment on "Fishing for Trophy Striped Bass", we will look at
another very effective technique for taking Cow Bass, chunking with bunker.
Return to Al Goldberg's Tackle Corner, Al's Columns or Dave's Homepage.
I have been chasing "cow" bass for at least 30 years. I have fished for them from the shores of Brooklyn to Montauk, Orient Point and beyond. For many years I would trek up to the mecca of striper haunts, the legendary rocky shores of Cuttyhunk Island off Cape Cod. It was there on a dark night in October 1968, that we came back to the dock after a night of trolling eel skin rigs over Sow and Pig reef, that I witnessed the 72 lb. cow bass caught by Ed Kirker.
If your passion is pursuing large striped bass, then you know that catching one of these magnificent fish takes a lot of skill, dedication and planning. Sure people sometimes get lucky and manage to land a trophy fish when it wasn't expected. But that is a rare exception. To consistently take big striped bass requires a very high level of knowledge and commitment.
Over the next few months I will be writing several installments on striped bass fishing and targeting large fish. Each installment will cover tackle and techniques to take large bass at that time of the season. This first installment will cover live bait fishing and bucktail jigging. Future installments will cover bunker chunking, diamond jigging, plugging and fishing live herring.
The first thing to remember are that bass are oportunistic predators. They like to let the tide bring them their dinner. Accordingly, bass tend to hang around structure, e.g. rocks, ledges and drop offs. Also inlets, troughs and sloughs along a beach front will hold bass. Therefore, if you have located some rocky structure with a reasonable tidal flow, the odds are that bass will be somewhere in the area.
I you want to up your chances of hooking a trophy bass, then fish bait. A trophy bass will find it very difficult to pass on a lively eel or bunker bait. If I am fishing bass in June during the day, nothing beats swimming a live bunker through a rip or over a drop off.
To fish live bunker from a boat, my tackle consists of a 6 1/2 - 7 foot medium heavy boat rod and a conventional reel spooled with 250 yards of quality 30 lb. mono. Attach a fish finder rig that will take a 6-8 ounce sinker. Attach a 5 foot leader of 80 lb. test to a barrel swivel swivel and then tie on the 6/0 live bait hook like a Gamakatsu 4X Octopus. Hook the live bunker through the jaw, drop it to the bottom and then take up 5 turns. You will feel the bunker swimming on the line. If a bass spots the bunker, the bait will start to get excited. Get ready for a pick up.
When a bass takes a bunker, they first try to stun it then turn it around in their mouth to swallow it and swim away. Do not strike on the initial pick up. Wait for the line to go tight and start to peel off the reel. Then engage your drag and strike the fish. Big bass have a lot of power, so let them go on the first run. When they stop running, then work the fish back to the boat. Be alert when the bass approaches the boat. They usually make another run when they see the boat, so let them take drag. Then work the fish back to the boat again.
Live bunker fishing is very effective around channels, drop offs and inlets. Try to fish either early in the morning at first light or around dusk when there is minimum boat traffic
Another method in June is fishing at night with live eels and bucktails. They call this "3 - waying". Basically you use the same rod and reel and you start with a large black 3 way swivel. Attach a 10-12 inch piece of 30 lb. mono with a dropper loop to one of the eyes of the swivel. To the other eye tie on a 6 foot length of 80 lb. mono. For eeling use the same 6/0 Gamakatsu live bait hook. For bucktailing, use a 1 /12 ounces smiling head bucktail either in white, purple, yellow or pink. Attached a pork rind striper strip in white and red. Keep changing the color of the bucktail until you know their preference that night.
Drop the eel or bucktail rig to the bottom and take up 5 turns. Hold it there as you drift over the bottom. If you feel a touch, lift your rod tip. It could either be a fish or the bottom. If it's a fish then strike, if it's the bottom then drop it back down and start over again.
I like to fish eels and bucktails off the east end of Long Island. Areas like the Race, Plum Gut, the Sluiceway and the rips off Montauk and Gardiners Island are prime trophy bass areas. I also like to fish around the full and new moon phases on a moving tide. Check your local newspaper for moon and tide conditions, or better yet, buy a copy of Eldridge's Pilot Book. It has all the information you are looking for in there.
In the next installment on "Fishing for Trophy Striped Bass", we will look at another very effective technique for taking Cow Bass, chunking with bunker.